FOR Jack McConnell, the prospect of a massive build-up in renewable energy in Scotland offers the tantalising possibility of a country that could become nuclear-free. Such a future would simultaneously avoid a dangerous division in the coalition ranks while strengthening the Labour Party's "green" credentials.

The First Minister has been under growing pressure to take a position on new nuclear power stations. This he has so far declined to do until the issue of nuclear waste has been clarified. But he knows, too, that any decision to go ahead would trigger ferocious opposition both outside and within his own party.

Now there is the possibility that Scotland might not need any new nuclear stations to meet its energy needs if it steps up its investment in renewables over the next few years. This would greatly please the anti-nuclear lobby, though it risks formidable opposition from objectors against wind farms and environmental campaigners concerned at the damage inflicted on the Scottish countryside. The calculation the First Minister appears to be making is that this may be a price worth paying if the end result is a nuclear-free Scotland.

However, all this remains at present little more than surmise. There is as yet no detailed, independent research and body of evidence to show that dependence on renewables without need of nuclear energy is either a realistic option or indeed the most cost- effective. Until a full independent cost analysis is done and shows the renewables alternative to be economically worthwhile as well as possible, there is the suspicion that the First Minister is doing little more at present than prolonging a delay on key decisions.

The dangers of this course were well set out in the recent inquiry by the Royal Society of Edinburgh into Scotland's future energy supply, chaired by Professor Maxwell Irvine. This sensibly pointed out that while some hard decisions have to be taken soon on energy, they cannot be taken until we know the facts. There is another problem. Because power stations take so long to build, the generating industry needs clarity on government policy now if we are not to face an energy shortfall, with all that this implies for sufficiency and regularity of supply.

Faced with this possibility, and the fact that we are not giving sufficient support for technologies which are some way from being shown to work, the conclusions of the RSE inquiry are relevant to the First Minister: these are that perhaps the answer is not wind or nuclear, but wind and nuclear, plus other considerations such as energy efficiency in new home construction and in our daily living. The First Minister needs to produce firm evidence that his vision stands up before decisions can be made.

NHS failings in anorexia case

FEW areas of health treatment are more demanding and complex than those surrounding anorexia in the young. But how is it possible that a victim can fall through the interstices of the most professional clinical treatment? This certainly appears to have been true in the case of Lindsay Weddell, an Edinburgh girl who died of an infection at St John's Hospital, Livingston, at the age of 20 after a six- year battle against severe anorexia.

There was a long history of complications, reaching through treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder and, prior to that, severe bullying at school. But her death was especially shocking, for this reason: Ms Weddell was transferred between no fewer than nine hospitals across the UK during the course of her illness. Yesterday, a report from the Scottish public services ombudsman upheld, or partially upheld, three complaints about the treatment funded and governed by Lothian NHS Board. The ombudsman concluded that the care provided "was generally of a high standard in challenging circumstances, but aspects of her care were severely hampered by the lack of integrated acute medical services and the limited options available".

An evident problem was lack of inpatient services. This should surely now be urgently addressed.

Nuptials at Harvey Nicks?

HARVEY Nichols' Forth Floor restaurant may have taken off innocently enough as the favoured watering hole of Edinburgh Ladies Who Lunch. But the upmarket store's application to gain a civil marriage licence opens up a whole new range of possibilities for retailers. How can Harvey Nicks hope to keep this facility exclusive, particularly in this age of chacun son got?

If it succeeds, it can't be long before Tesco offers instore weddings midway between the aromatic bread counter and the own- label wine racks. And would Asda be far behind? Imagine the shopping lists of tomorrow: "2lb carrots, half doz eggs, 3 tins cat food, 1 bottle Squeezy washing-up liquid and ... oh, PS, get married." For traditional Scottish weddings, there's always Jenners' tearoom. Or if it's a designer wedding with the father of the bride on a budget, pop into TK Maxx.

However, couples bonded by shopping can be parted likewise. Why not make retail divorce available? Are not even the best marriages sorely tested in IKEA? Or, if a quickie divorce will do, why not join the queue at B&Q? And for mature couples renewing wedding vows after 50 years, one retail experience beats them all: the carrot- cake stall at the tearoom in Dobbies.